As far as support ("market") for teams in Texas, at least in the 60s and 70s, it was where you and your buddies went to school, not what city you live in. Then there's the factor about how far they go after graduation.
Texas is filled with grads of UT-Austin and quite a few Texas Aggies. SMU, U. of Houston, Rice, Texas Tech not so much. College Station only has a population of 125,000 even now; Austin MSA 2.5M, DFW MSA 8.1M, Houston MSA 7.5M, San Antonio MSA 2.7M (SF MSA 4.6M)
In my family, before any one went to any of the SWC schools, Texas was by far the biggest name athletic school, presumably because of news coverage in Houston in the early 60s.
Things may have changed in the last 50 years, but I think not.
At 52,000 students (Fall 2023), UT-Austin is still filling the state of Texas. Texas A&M indicates they have 73,000 students.
At 12,000 students, SMU likely falls behind both UT-Austin AND Tx A&M in alumni in the DFW area (and Houston, and San Antonio, and Austin)
Texas is filled with grads of UT-Austin and quite a few Texas Aggies. SMU, U. of Houston, Rice, Texas Tech not so much. College Station only has a population of 125,000 even now; Austin MSA 2.5M, DFW MSA 8.1M, Houston MSA 7.5M, San Antonio MSA 2.7M (SF MSA 4.6M)
In my family, before any one went to any of the SWC schools, Texas was by far the biggest name athletic school, presumably because of news coverage in Houston in the early 60s.
Things may have changed in the last 50 years, but I think not.
At 52,000 students (Fall 2023), UT-Austin is still filling the state of Texas. Texas A&M indicates they have 73,000 students.
At 12,000 students, SMU likely falls behind both UT-Austin AND Tx A&M in alumni in the DFW area (and Houston, and San Antonio, and Austin)